Block-printing machine.



W. H. WALDRUN.

BLOCK PRINTING MACHINE.

APFHCATION HLEU JAN. \9. 1916.

[288,378. Patented 00$. 29, 1918.

WILLIAM H. WALDRON, NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY.

t 1 BLOCK-PRINTING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29, 1918.

Application filed January 19, 1916. Serial No. 73,014.

1on1; whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, \VILLIAM H. \YALDRON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Brunswick, county of l\[iddlesex,,

State of Ncw Jersey, have invented certain Improvements in Block-PrintingMachines,

of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to ('t'l'lltllll unprovements in machines t'or printing oileloth and similar materials in which blocks are used to make the impressions, the blocks licing lnlounted on reciprocating carrier actuated,

Tin the present instance, by cams.

Theobject of the invention is to provide means for holdlng the independent printing bloel 'nout of action and to provide electric mechanism for actuating the latch In the zwcompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of one section of a block printing machine, illustrating my invention l Fig. 2 is a front view showing a series of push buttons or switches. and

Fig.3 isa view of a form of commutator that may he need in connection WlLl) my mechanism.

Referring to the drawiu 1 is the frame of the machine having guides 2 on the block carrier 3. This block carrier consists. in the present instance, of a pair of horizontal beams 4 connected to side members l which are adapted to guides 2 in the l'ramo ol' the machine and aro slotted at (i for the passage of the cam shaft 7 driven in any hllllil llt manner. ()n this cam ahal'taro came 8 ol' the peculiar shape shown in the drawing. and each cam has a raised portion J which carries the printing block abovo tho lillo nl tho inking l'ollol' it). This inking rollol' ia nuumtodon a carriage 11. which ia adapted l()1't('l])] )t:llt in the ordiuar v manner under the carrier aml to ink tho projecting portions of tho printing block 12 which is secured to tho undor side ol' the carrior i The ordi nary method of holding the carrier in tho elevated position is to lino a hand latch. This is uncertain, as the action of the oporatorh hand is Htllllttllllth' too slow to actuate the latch when tho block is at its highcl t point. if not caught at tho nropcr limo. tho block prints at repeal who it should not. Furthermore, it is necessary for the operator to walk from one hand latch to another in order to lock certain blocks out: of action at the same time.

The mechanism which I will now proceed to describe is rapld and accurate, and the mechanism of two or more blocks may be operated simultaneously.if desired, i

At the side of the block carrier is a cle tent 13 having an inclined end, which is adapted to enter a notch 14 and engage a shoulder on the side member 5 oftho carrier. The detcnt is adapted to slide in bearings 15 and L6 respectively and has a coiled s n-mg 17 which bears against an armature 18 secured torthe detent so that the spring normally holds the detent out of engagement, with the carrier. Mounted on the bearings 1: are magnets 19, which are so located in respeet to the armature that when a current passes through the magnets the armature will be attracted and will move the detent against the pressure of the spring 17 into the path of, the notch 14 so that the moment the not eh'comes in line with the detent, the detont will enter the notch and will retain the carrier in an elevated position clear of the inking roller. The cam 8 will travel under the roller 20 on the side members 5 of the carrier.

:21 is an ordinary push button and the wires oxtond from the button to the magnets, and a battery is in the circuit in the ordinary manner. The push button can be located at any point desired away from the mechanism of the machine and, as machines of this type have a series of block carriers, the mcchaniam above described is, duplicated and all of the push buttons may be located at a convenience point, as in Fig. 2, so that an operator, when he wishes to hold an one of the printing blocks out of action, simply |)l't'$ t\ tho button of that Particular block carrier and holds it until the detent is in cllgatt'omonl with the carrier. The block is arro tod until the ram makes another complete rovolution and the high part of the cum 9 will rcloaso the detent. if the circuit be upon. The pring 17 will withdraw the dotcnl. allowing the block to make an impro ion. Whil 1 have shown a detent on ol|l ono- Sltlt of tho machine, it; will be understood that in largo machines there will ho a dotont on ouch side thereof, the detents acting in uniaon.

\Vhore certain l)l0(l i are to be drawn out) of action in a given order a commutator may be used which will be driven from the mechanism of the machine and which will automatically project the detents and hold the blocks out of engagement during certain periods of the )rinting operation. Such a UOHlHlllttltOl' is illustrated in Fig. 3, in which 22 is a shaft driven from any point of the machine at the required speed, and on this shaft is a series of disks 23. These disks have sections of insulating material so as to break the circuit at the proper intervals.

The material to be printed is fed intermittently through the machine and there is usually a series of printingblock carriers which are, reeiprocated t0 and from the material and mounted on each carrier is a printing block, which makes the impression. These blocks are supplied with color by reciprocating mechanism carr 'ing rollers. which travel in contact with tie surface of the blocks when the carriers are in the raised position. hut, in order to hold the blocks clear of this inking mechanism, when the carriers are out of action, the cam 8 has a raised portion which lifts the block carrier of the inking mechanism and if a push but ton, or switch, be pressed to energize the magnets at one of the detents, that detent will he forced out into engagement with the block carricn holding the carrier in the raised position, hut, as Mr'll as the cam makes a complete revol ion and the block arrier is raised and the magnets are not energized. the spring retracts the detent and z the -arrier is allowed to more. the hloek making an impression.

I claim:

The combination in a Hat hlock printing machine, of a frame; a vertically reciprocating block carrier mounted on the frame: power mechanism for raising the llm'k carrier; a printing hloek mounted on the car rier, said carrier havinga shoulder: a sliding detent arranged to engage the shoulder on the carrier and to hold the carrier out of action; an armature on the detent; magnets located so as to cause the detent toeneagc the carrier when the said magnets are encr' gized; means for retracting the detent to allow the block to make an impression: and a switch in circuit with the magnet for controlling the magnet.

WILLIAM H. \VALDRON. 

